Into Extinction – Day 95 (Frame of Reference)

Frame of Reference - A position from which an observer watches an event and makes measurements as he/she sees them can be called that observers frame of reference.

 

The subject frame of reference and the subsequent definition doesn’t seem to have any relevance to my subject matter but it’s all about your frame of reference.

 

I was watching Charlie Wilson’s War the other night.  This is a movie about Afghanistan and the Soviet Union.  When you watch this movie you get additional information (where true or not is not the subject of this posting) about the Soviet invasion.  You are presented with the Soviets being vicious and cruel to the Afghans by planting toy bombs that blow the hands off of children and other such atrocities.  Then the movie progresses to the ideals of a single man put into action.  Charlie Wilson literally changes the outcome of the war.  He is an America politician and an idealist.  He proceeds to procure money from the American Government starting at $10million and ending up over a billion.  He equips the Afghans with the military hardware to defeat the Soviets and they do. 

 

This changed my frame of reference in two ways:

1.     The first way is I never bothered to truly understand the conflict that occurred in Afghanistan.  The movie presents significant information (whether true on not is not the subject of debate here) about what happened and why it happened.  It changed my frame of reference.  In doing so, prompted me to search out more information on the conflict.  Why would I bother?  Well, once again, we have a country (Afghanistan) with a bunch of rocks and weeds that we seem to fighting over – again – why?  And further to this, why the hell would you be interested?  Well, my friend, in this global world we live in, things halfway around the world impact you and I.

2.     The second fact or information I realized, that if the movie is even 10% correct, we helped to create the problem in Afghanistan.  This was complete new information to me.   If you read the book, “the looming tower” you would realize that al quaeda started in Afghanistan.  This terrorist group touched many of us and intentionally changed us.

 

So to further bring forward the concept of frame of reference, I think about my divorce and the subsequent things that happened to me.  I can limit my frame of reference to simply being very, very angry about Maintenance Enforcement.  I can limit my frame of reference to the next hockey game or a cold beer.  This is immediate gratification and possibly I drink myself into slumber and temporarily forget the sodomy that Maintenance Enforcement has done.

 

However I chose (and if you have read any of my previous postings you know this) to research and gather information.  Why would I bother to do this?  Isn’t this just more aggravation on top of everything else?  Yes, it certainly is, because as I dig deeper into Maintenance Enforcement and the labels applied to divorced fathers I get more angry.  As my frame of reference increases, I understand the problem better.  I want to understand the issues and problems behind deadbeat dads better than the judges, ex-wives and governments and it helps that I am one.  A perspective armed with information. 

 

Why would I do this?  Because is the simplest answer or maybe, just maybe, I am thinking we (you and I) could change this for the better.  I am not talking about removing payments, what I am talking about is a better balance in the system.  A system of accountability for both parties.  And all this starts out with one person saying “enough is enough”.  It has to start somewhere,  I hope you change your frame of reference along with me.